VW profit up sharply in quarter

VW profit up sharply in quarter

The VW logo is seen on the front of one of dozens of new Passats made at the Chattanooga Volkswagen assembly plant parked outside the plant. These cars will be used as demos for testing, internal quality control and press test drives.

The VW logo is seen on the front...

Volkswagen Group today reported that third quarter profit jumped over last year, and it forecast an improvement on its full-year figures aided by higher sales in North America.

"We expect Group sales revenue and operating profit in 2011 to be significantly higher than in the previous year," said Martin Winterkorn, the German automaker's chief executive.

Operating profit surged 46 percent to $4.05 billion in the third quarter on demand for Audi and VW brand sport-utility vehicles, the company reported.

"We are on the right path to becoming the world's leading automaker by 2018 in both economic and ecological terms," Winterkorn said.